The Full History of Khantros
The Early Years The beginnings of Khantros are one surrounded in mystery. Each race and even each country has their own theories on how they first arrived upon this land. Out of the four races, it is believed that the Grummonds were the first to be born upon this land. According to them, the Elder gods created them in their own image, and that the other races that arrived upon this land were simply unnecessary additions. Through the effort and generosity of the Primal Gods, a select few of each of the four principle races were granted the abilities to access these primal beings energy and create astounding miracles and spells. Through this, the three gods divided the world and soon retreated back to watch over the world, rarely entering into affairs unless there was a major cataclysm. The races soon divided the land, with the Gerro and humans settling the southern half of the continent, and the Grummonds retreating to the north, preferring the colder climate, which they believed brought them closer to the primal gods. As for the Kumai, they retreated to the island of Fifren, since it was the only climate that they could comfortably adapt too. As the races populations and nations grew, the Primal God’s involvement with the world lessened, which they considered to be a rousing success. However, the nature of life will always have conflict, as the Primal Gods and the world found out. The War of Tears Called the War of Tears by the people of Inan, and the War of Glorious Expansion by the Gerro, this was the first war fought in the history of Khantros. The war was begun by the Gerro, who had been greedily looking to annex the rich soil of the Shagai plains, which the humans had first claimed. The Gerro population had grown at an exponential rate, and they were looking for new land to feed their burgeoning population. The Gerro, who had found large caches of iron in Gerro’s spine, quickly overran the human settlements upon the plains, many of which were wiped off the map. The humans had no idea what was happening, and soon the Gerro had overtaken large parts of what had once been human land. Many humans who had not been slaughtered were driven to flee to the plains to the northwest. The others were driven farther into the great forests of the east. The remaining humans rallied around the few Arch-Mages who had survived the early attacks. The Arch-Mages, of which seven remained, pledged to drive back the Gerro. The humans were enraged, since they had lost so much, and the Primal Gods had done nothing to stop the Gerro from slaughtering thousands and driving their nation to the brink of ruin. The Mages began to invent combat spells that would aid them in their fight, spells which had strayed far away from the Primal God’s original intentions. The mages also organized the humans, creating a council that would eventually become part of the government of Idoth. The human counterattack began, only two years after the Gerro’s first invasion. The End of the War of Tears The Gerro, knowing that they needed to attack while the humans were in what they thought was disarray, sent the greatest of their armies to crush the humans once and for all. As soon as they entered the forest, they were met with a wicked surprise. Plummeting fireballs, great lightning and rain storms, and other violent spells tore apart the Gerro’s ranks. The Arch-Mages had mastered a new form of combat magic, wiping out Gerro’s by the thousands. The Gerro fled in terror and disarray, with many more dying in the mad scramble to get away with the vicious spells of the humans. The large amounts of magical energy that were expanded peaked the notice of the Primal Gods. After decades of non-involvement, they were forced to act. They were horrified at what the humans had done, manipulating and perverting their energies to destroy and murder. However they were slow to act and the humans had pushed the Gerro back. As the war dragged on, the spells became more and more destructive, with entire armies swallowed up by the earth, and entire lands cursed by famine and drought. The Humans had pushed the Gerro back to the Shagai plains, where the Gerro gathered their remaining armies to end the humans once and for all. Upon this plain, the two races clashed for a final time. The Arch-Mages gathered to create the deadliest spell known to the world. This spell was a great pestilence, one that would destroy the entirety of the Gerro civilization, killing every male and female of the Gerro race, leaving none alive. As the mages chanted the final lines of the spell, the Primal Gods appeared upon the battlefield. Declaring the failures of humanity, the Gods stripped the Arch-Mages of their power. Unfortunately, this did not dissipate the gigantic amount of magical energy the mags had gathered. A great explosion tore apart the land, wiping away all of the arch-mages and killing nearly half of the remaining humans. With the tides turned and the Mages gone, the Gerro won easily. The gods, which had not foreseen such a disaster, stopped the Gerro from slaughtering the remaining humans. Instead, the gods declared the Gerro’s their caretakers and masters, placing the humans under control until they could be trusted again. The Arrival of the New Gods Both the Gerro and Humans were completely exhausted from the war. The lands had been torn asunder by humanity’s spells. It took nearly 30 years for the land to even begin changing back into what it once was. With the loss of their magic, humanity would face a tougher road to recovery. While the Gerro had been made the human’s guardians, they quickly moved to abuse their power The Gerro quickly moved into what was once human land and the humans were corralled farther and farther away from the ancestral homes, moving deeper into the east. Many more moved to the isle of Idoth, which had remained relatively untouched by the war. Under the watchful eyes of the Gerro, the humans worked to repair the infrastructure, and the rule of the Gerro Empire became unmatched for the next 500 years. During that time, humans were treated as nothing more than servants/slaves. They built monumental cities to their Gerro masters all the while cursing the Primal Gods who had abandoned them to their fate. The humans revolted several times, but were never strong enough than to last more than a couple years. Despite the occasional rebellion, along with the occasional raids by Grummond raiders, this was an age of peace. However the winds of change begin to blow and an event on the Island of Idoth shook the roots of the world down to the core. On a late night in the year 1058, a large meteor struck down upon the Northern side of Idoth, crashing down into right outside what would become the College of New Magic. From the crash site emerged several beings, godlike in their beauty and strength. They named themselves to the people of the city as their new gods. Led by The God of Balance, Idor, they were seven in number. They were side-effects of the great magical explosion of the Battle of the Shagai Plains over five hundred years prior. They spent all these years coalescing their forms and drawing power from the magical energy that permeated Khantros. They finally revealed themselves to humanity after witnessing their suffering at the hands of the Gerro. To show their good will to the humans, they granted the first seven new magical powers, and used them to destroy the Gerro Garrison and Idoth’s governor. Humanity finally had a land to call their own, and could finally reclaim their land. The War of Pantheons Gerro response to the incident on Idoth was quick but futile. The fleet of ships that arrived only expected to find a small rebellion, and after hundreds of years of peace, had grown complacent. What they weren’t expecting was deadly new spells that burn their ships in the harbor. After their victory, the people of Idoth quickly spread the news to the mainland. It took a couple of years, but soon planned revolts were taking place across the Gerro Empire. During that time, the New Gods had been training more mages in the new systems of magic. Faced with this, the Gerro were forced to restart their rusted and ancient war machine. Their armies, which had only dealt with poorly equipped peasants, were completely unprepared to fight a rebellion of such a scale. Over the next 15 years human and Gerro armies once again clashed across the continent and once again the Old Gods were forced to intervene. They were greatly angered by their upstart children. To combat the spells of the New Gods, the Primal Gods allowed the Gerro to use the magic in self-defense. They also summoned the Grummonds to fight against the humans, many of whom fought for both sides. Despite the Primal God’s aid, humanity had the edge. This new type of magic was more complex, it required more control and finesse, but at the same time created much more focused spells. While not as powerful as Primal spells, new magic spells could create a much larger variety of effects. Using this advantage to the fullest, humanity took back all of the land lost in the War of Tears, and quickly moved into Old Gerro. There they made a straight march towards the capital of Gergarn, casting aside anyone who stood in their way. The Gerro Emperor, Eradath Sal-Vanni, and all the remaining Gerro mages met the resting human army at that Vraden Oasis, and the final battle of the War began. The battle, which would come to be known as the Battle of the Red Spring, raged for five days. Great spells swallowed entire battalions and turned the surrounding land and oasis into a wasteland. Even now, the water from the Vraden Oasis still flows red, stained by the blood of the thousands which soaked the land. On the beginning of the sixth day, the gods, both Primal and New, appeared before the two armies. The gods once again put a stop to the fighting and forced the Gerro Emperor and humanity’s leading council of Archmages to sign a peace agreement. And with that the War of Pantheon’s was over, with humanity once again back in their rightful place. Several days after the peace treaty, the Gerro emperor was assassinated by one of his sons, and civil war erupted, announcing an end to the once powerful Gerro Empire. Modern Day The War of Pantheons ended 35 years ago. The human kingdom of Inan was restored and became the dominant power in the region. The Arch-mages and New Gods created a Grand Magic School on Idoth, which has become a beacon of learning to the entire civilized world. The Gerro civil war has entered its final stages, with the youngest son of Eradath being the clear winner. At the same time, new threats have risen to the North. During the war, something was awoken on Grimdur’s eye. The Head Archmage of ancient Inan, Valkarth’s, survived the explosion during the final battle of the War of Tears, but came out as something that should not be. He had become twisted by the magic spells, and has gained the curse of a powerful corruption that will destroy all life. While the war was raging to the south, Valkarth’s corruption spread across the Whispering Highlands, twisting man and beast alike into hideous mutated monsters, and turned the land into an inhospitable hellscape. Thousands were lost, and the survivors constructed the Weeping Wall to stop the corruption from spreading further. Now the corruption turns his eyes to the south. Thankfully, evil is not the only thing that has reawakened. The Kumai, the plant people of Fifren have finally emerged from hiding after nearly thousands of years. They have been warned of the growing corruption by the Primal Gods, and dropped the barriers sealing off their island in order to warn the other civilized races. The Grummonds were also warned as well, and have begun to make forays into the corrupted land to fight the growing menace. Unfortunately, the Gerro and Inan are too busy competing for the newly opened island of Fifren. The Gerro had discovered a miraculous new metal, and the humans were interested in expanding their growing new empire. The World of Khantros has begun to move once again, and who knows what might happen.